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Council tries to tell people how many sprouts they should eat at Christmas

Brussels sprouts might be the most divisive item on a Christmas dinner plate but this has not stopped local residents voicing their outrage for being told how many of the humble miniature cabbages to eat on Christmas day.

Leicestershire council has been savagely mocked for telling residents not to eat more than six sprouts with their Christmas dinner.

In the attempt to cut down on the amount of waste people are producing, Leicestershire County Council tweeted: “Six sprouts = one portion. Don’t overbuy and they don’t go to waste.”

The English Midlands council accompanied the warning with the two hashtags “Christmas tip” and “waste free Xmas”.

But the council has prompted outrage on social media for their advice and residents argued it was officious and overbearing.

The reccomendation provoked a steady stream of gifs and memes, with people accusing the local authority of “totalitarianism” and emulating a so-called “nanny state”.

Natasha Rossiya, a Twitter user, asked: “Are you going to prosecute Leicestershire residents if they have seven or, heaven forbid, eight sprouts? Will [there] be a ‘Sprout Officer’?”

Another unimpressed user chipped in to say: “A man like me likes at least 16 sprouts – shall I expect to hear the sound of jackboots on the stairs?”

One more added: “Don’t be silly I have at least 18.”

Others questioned how brussel sprouts would even be able to go to waste, with one suggesting the leftovers could be used for bubble and squeak and another for brussels sprout soup.

Some even used the warning to make jokes about Brexit and the EU’s powers that be in the Belgian city of Brussels.

A council spokesman told the Leicester Mercury: “We send out thousands of tweets, including messages about food waste, and sometimes we get it wrong. We want residents to enjoy every aspect of Christmas Day, including the sprouts!